Smart Design Mart!
November 23, 2010This, my friends, is one event you do not want to miss if you are in Montreal!
The Smart Design Mart will have some of my favorite fellow designers showcasing there designs in their self made mini boutique booths. Expect to see Noémiah, Tamé, Nea, Mélanie Favreau, Norwegianwood, La Raffinerie, Vanessa Moore and Elaine-ho in the favorite jewelry department… and so many more product designers, fashion designers, and other stuff like food products, leather goods, art and prints, etc. from big and small companies alike.
So prepare to Christmas shop… or shop for yourself… or just plain browse! (I will be doing all of the above as well as holding my own booth)
There will be a bit of food and drinks and the confection of an art installation will take place live in front of your eyes! Come and say Hi!
Inspiration VS Design
November 18, 2010I like reinterpreting things. I like contrasts between tough and delicate, dark and light, soft and hard, etc. I like using materials in unusual ways. And so I figured I would have fun and point out a few sources of inspiration 
Haute Couture Breast Plate VS Traditional Native American Breast Plate
Alice Tuxedo necklace VS White tuxedo
Haute Couture Sound of Music VS Nun’s dress
Jeannie Bali Storm VS Traditional Indonesian wedding jewelry (that’s me when I was 7)
Leeloo Box-Kite earrings VS Box-kite
So as much as I enjoy coming up with amazingly new shapes, sometimes a literal interpretation is more fun!
PS No, I didn’t get married in Indonesia when I was 7…
My vintage treasures
November 11, 2010So what jewelry does a jewelry designer own and love?
Besides my very large collection of international souvenir jewelry (A couple pieces x every place I have visited = too much to count), I have a collection of vintage jewelry (mostly statement pieces) that is a great source of inspiration to me. It started with a few pieces from my stylish grandmother’s costume jewelry stash (see last necklace) and has become a wider collection of things I hunt down or fall upon.
Here is a peak at some of my favorites I have sourced from all over the place. I wear them most often with my own designs (when it’s not to much).
My collection grows slowly as I fall in love again and again with treasures from the past. Jewelry from the 1960s is after all what got me started…
And I must say to conclude that no matter how hard I strive to come up with new and innovative designs I have never seen before, it seems that someone somewhere at some point in history has thought of something quite similar. It’s quite impressive!
Things that are awesome!
November 8, 2010I would like to dedicate this post to things that are awesome and all about rethinking what already exists. And this just so happens to be a very ecofriendly collection of items. Upcycling (aka reusing and adding value to) is the best eco solution!
So here is just an infinitely small portion of amazing things I have come across…
Ties made of cassette tape
Cuff links made of levels
T-Shirts that reinterpret famous design
Skirts made of umbrellas (that will make you think twice before throwing them out just because the metal stems are broken!)
Bracelets made of porcelain teacups
Lights made of salt shakers
Cat beds made of vintage suitcases
And my personal creation made with the leftovers from my jewelry tags…
So be creative and when you start your Christmas shopping think smart design…
Käaz photoshoot
October 25, 2010What do you get when you mix good hair dressing, great styling and awesome photography…
Styling by Joannie Tremblay
Jewelry by This Ilk
Clothing by White Label
Photos courtesy or Käaz hair salon (click to see more amazing hair styling)
I call this one Cumulonimbus…
LOVE the idea, very Frida…
And last but not least, notice the detailed crimping, a true work of art…
An honor to be part of it!
If I had more bodies to wear more jewelry…
October 22, 2010Sometimes, there are just not enough occasions to wear jewelry (and I am saying this because I have such a large collection and there are just not enough days in a week for me to wear them all… ) So I share with you creations from fellow designers I feel you should know about…
Noemiah —> http://www.etsy.com/shop/noemiah
Norwegianwood —> http://www.etsy.com/shop/iheartnorwegianwood
Nea —> http://www.etsy.com/shop/neawear 
Mélanie Favreau —> http://www.etsy.com/shop/melaniefavreau
Sara Lagacé —> http://www.etsy.com/shop/saralagace
Brokenfab —> http://brokenfab.bigcartel.com/
Beige —> http://www.beigejewelry.com/collection.html
Elaine-ho —> http://www.etsy.com/shop/roadkill
And that’s it for now but there are soooo many other amazing designers out there. Forget the malls, the internet and the small indie shops have all the good stuff!
Clearly related…
October 12, 2010A warm long weekend with the family inspired me to make this post…
First of all, I have to talk about my Grandmother’s exquisite taste.
One of my favorite pass-times is going through my Grandmother’s old photos and… her closets. (I already have quite a collection of her vintage costume jewelry.) This time she took out a few dresses asking me if they were of any interest to me. What a question! Just look at these gems from the 1970s :
The one on the left is so typical it makes me want to sing Abba non stop! (And it actually looks good on) As for the one on the right, it was what she wore to my uncle’s wedding and reminds me of something Carrie would wear in Sex in the City. A bit tight but I’m definitely squeezing into it when I find the right occasion.
As for her decorating talents, I have always admired the perfectly set fancy living room. The green chairs have fascinated me so much I have made quite a few of my designs in that velvety green color for this season (I know, I know it’s taking me way to long to make the collection available but I’m working hard at it!)
And finally, I received the most awesome gift EVER from my dad! (For my birthday, Christmas, next birthday, next Christmas, etc.) So as I am obsessed with the ’60s and as he is obsessed with motorcycles, he gave me a hybrid of both!
An original vintage 1967 mint green Vespa, the ultimate This Ilk vehicle !!! Now all I need is a motorcycle license, a garage and warmer weather… Happy fall!
There is no such thing as too big…
October 6, 2010As long as they are light weight…
NOW
THEN
Fashion is about making a statement, therefore statement jewelry will always be fashionable…
Collaborations
September 27, 2010There are fewer things that make me happier than seeing my creations through the eyes of someone else be it a stylist, photographer or illustrator. I am a big fan of art and design in all of it’s forms… So I am presenting you with a little recap of collaborations I have done since This Ilk started. I hope I will have many more to show in the future…
An interpretation of Iamnotabikini, Iamjewelry by Paule Trudel Bellemare, amazing illustrator I hope to work with again in the near future. You can visit her awesome blog here : http://blog.pauleillustration.com/
♥
Photography by Élisabeth Cloutier (See her work here : http://www.elisabethcloutier.com/)
Styling by Raphaëlle Leblanc Palmieri
♥
Photography by Catherine Audette (See her work here : http://www.catherineaudette.ca/ )
Make-up by Marijo Paquet
♥
Photography by Deniz Merdan (See his work here : http://www.denizmerdan.com/)
♥
And the latest… which I can’t quite call a collaboration because the stylist did purchase the earrings from me but I absolutely needed to mention because of all the talent behind these photos.
Photography by Sébastien Roy (See his work here http://lephotographiste.blogspot.com/)
Styling (and modeling) by the lovely Mélanie Brisson in collaboration with M De Latour
Dress by Denis Gagnon
And that wraps it up for now…
Collection Automne/Hiver 2011… inspiré de Paris
September 24, 2010Mi-Été, j’apprends que j’ai gagné un concours (auquel je ne savais pas que j’avais participé). Le prix : une place sur le Salon Parisien Who’s Next. L’astuce, c’est que je devais avoir ma collection Printemps/Été 2011 prêt à montrer! Alors je saute Automne/Hiver2010 (du moins pour l’instant) et je prépare le tout. Pas de détails sur la collection pour l’instant mais je vous dévoile qu’une photo du salon…
Deuxième fois à Paris, je me réconcilie avec cette ville qui m’avait laissé un goût amère à la bouche en 2007. Je joue à la Parisienne. La clé? Sembler, à tout moment, savoir ce que je fais, où je vais et ce que je veux. Je roule le bas de mes pantalons, j’évite les “gougounes” et je prends le temps de me maquiller et coiffer pour me fondre dans la masse. (Rien de pire que d’avoir l’air d’une touriste sans même avoir prononcé un mot.) Cette fois, je prends le temps d’apprécier tout ce que j’absorbe avec mes sens et je me laisse tenter par les clichés parisiens (shopping, magazines, parfums, lingerie, apéros, café, visite de châteaux…) De là l’inspiration pour la petite collection de nouveautés Automne/Hiver. Un peu classique, un peu élégante, un peu cliché, un peu parisienne quoi! Toujours avec une touche rétro…
